Nano Self-Assembly: An NSTI Executive Briefing

Move over carbon nanotubes. Another maturing vein of nano-science, “nano-structured fluids, ” is capturing the imagination of some of the nation’s top nano researchers.

by Vance McCarthyMove over carbon nanotubes. Another maturing vein of nano-science, “nano-structured fluids, ” is capturing the imagination of some of the nation’s top nano researchers.

The Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI) will for the first time, provide an international briefing on why “nano-structured fluids” research is poised to dramatically change the direction of traditional nano-materials work, in a variety of unexpected ways.

Dynamic Self-Assembly: Nano-Structured Fluids' Hidden GoldNano-structured fluids research has long been the domain of consumer products and foods companies such as L’Oréal, Proctor and Gamble, and Nestlé. Innovative work on next-generation consumer products such as cosmetics, paints, ice cream, and shampoo has been based on nano-structured fluids science for years.

“We view nano-structured fluids as a major growth area for business and scientific development. The capability of this area of science to unlock principals of self-assembly has the potential to greatly impact and accelerate commercialization of nanotechnology.” Said Bart Romanowicz, NSTI executive director of technology.

But, new revelations over nano-structured fluids' remarkable property of “dynamic self-assembly” are bringing new nano-scientists to the table, according to Fiona Case, the Nanotech 2005 program chair for the event’s first Nano-Structured Fluids symposium.

”In a fluid system, molecules, such as surfactants and block copolymers, or larger structures such as colloids, are free to flow around and assemble themselves into new nano-scale materials, this simply can’t happen with solids” Case said. “And, while it has long been an area of research among foods, chemical, oil and cosmetic companies, the implications for nano-materials, that go into semiconductors, for instance, are only just beginning to be understood. The broader nanotechnology community is waking up to the potential for dynamic self-assembly in a wide range of different applications.”

Probing Nano’s Secret of Self-AssemblyJust how big might “dynamic self-assembly” be to nano materials research? Well, some top scientists believe it could be quite big, it seems.

Putting money and research cycles where their mouth is, at present Argonne is conducting research into new metal-based nano-fluids that would be used to dramatically enhance the thermal conductivity of conventional heat transfer fluids and flow smoothly in microchannel passages.

On the commercial side, IBM recently highlighted the potential for block-copolymer self-assembly to create nanometer size structures for electronics application. Elsewhere, a commercial research project is using dynamic self-assembly to develop a new prototype paint that would allow walls to react to changes in temperature or moisture by changing colors.